BuckeyeAngel

Marie had been in an Abbey and her uncle Cardinal Jules Mazarin took her out and took her to the french court. Marie was intelligent, passionate, romantic, stubborn but at the same time vulnerable. King Louis XIV  was also known as the Sun King. Louis was young, idealistic, and growing into his duties and responsibilities to his country. Cardinal Mazarin is a close personal adviser to the young king. Actually Cardinal Mazarin and the king's’ mother pretty much have control of Louis. Marie’s older sister Olympia is the king’s current mistress but then he met Marie and there was an intense connection between the two. The connection between Louis and Marie does turn into true love so much so that Louis is ready to leave the throne to be with Marie. Marie is the one who helped Louis be the strong and good king he became. Marie wants to free Louis of her uncle the cardinal. Cardinal Mazarin did a lot of bad things to make himself richer and to ruin the lives of his nieces and nephews. Also the king's mother  and cardinal Mazarin considers Marie's and Louis’s love forbidden and do whatever they can to keep the two apart. Marie’s life also takes her across France, Spain and Italy she isn’t always at court.

‘This story has it all : betrayal, a king coming into himself, secrets, drama, pregnancy, forbidden love, greed, manipulation betrayal, the french court and pain and a lot more what more could you ask for ?, The story was excellent and I believe close to the time frame and how it really was . It even brought tears to my eyes at times. Also those beautiful letters between Louis and Marie certainly pulled at my heartstrings. The characters were off the wall Cardinal Mazarin was so vile you hated him more and more as the story went on as well as the king’s own mother. But the two people that of course stood out were King Louis and Marie and the twists and turns they went through. Just an excellent read and I highly recommend.

I received an ARC of this story for an honest review.